Light band on laser printing

[David Nebenzahl]

My trusty HP 2100M printer is now printing with a definite light band in
one spot on each page. The cartridge is old (bought new with the printer
back in 19-ought-99) but doesn't have that many pages on it (couple
thousand). Turning the cartridge to redistribute the toner doesn't fix
the problem.

Diagnosis? I'm hoping a certain regular here who lives in "Surf City"
might answer ...


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

 

On Feb 21, 6:03 pm, David Nebenzahl <nob...@but.us.chickens> wrote:

My trusty HP 2100M printer is now printing with a definite light band in
one spot on each page. The cartridge is old (bought new with the printer
back in 19-ought-99) but doesn't have that many pages on it (couple
thousand). Turning the cartridge to redistribute the toner doesn't fix
the problem.

Diagnosis? I'm hoping a certain regular here who lives in "Surf City"
might answer ...

--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

You're going WAY too far with this frugality thing. Try a new toner
cartridge. I think you got your money's worth on the last one.

G˛

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:03:56 -0800, David Nebenzahl
<nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote:

My trusty HP 2100M printer is now printing with a definite light band in
one spot on each page. The cartridge is old (bought new with the printer
back in 19-ought-99) but doesn't have that many pages on it (couple
thousand). Turning the cartridge to redistribute the toner doesn't fix
the problem.

Diagnosis? I'm hoping a certain regular here who lives in "Surf City"
might answer ...

Light band in which direction? Lengthwise or widthwise on the paper?
Most likely, you need a new cartridge. Even on the shelf in a box,
the carts deteriorate. If you can't borrow a cartridge for testing,
then just buy a new one. However, if the line is lengthwise, it might
be something else, such as a piece of crud stuck in the laser scanner,
a burned out transfer film in the fuser, dirty scrubber in the fuser,
gouged toner drum, gouged fuser drum, etc. If you're not sure, tear
it apart and clean out the dust, dirt, and loose toner.

Also see:
<http://www.FixYourOwnPrinter.com>


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[David Nebenzahl]

On 2/21/2010 8:05 PM Jeff Liebermann spake thus:

On Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:03:56 -0800, David Nebenzahl
nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote:

My trusty HP 2100M printer is now printing with a definite light
band in one spot on each page. The cartridge is old (bought new
with the printer back in 19-ought-99) but doesn't have that many
pages on it (couple thousand). Turning the cartridge to
redistribute the toner doesn't fix the problem.

Diagnosis? I'm hoping a certain regular here who lives in "Surf
City" might answer ...

Light band in which direction? Lengthwise or widthwise on the paper?
Most likely, you need a new cartridge. Even on the shelf in a box,
the carts deteriorate. If you can't borrow a cartridge for testing,
then just buy a new one. However, if the line is lengthwise, it might
be something else, such as a piece of crud stuck in the laser scanner,
a burned out transfer film in the fuser, dirty scrubber in the fuser,
gouged toner drum, gouged fuser drum, etc. If you're not sure, tear
it apart and clean out the dust, dirt, and loose toner.

Also see:
http://www.FixYourOwnPrinter.com

Thanks. I shoulda said which direction: it's lengthwise, down the page
as it's printed. And it's not a sharply-defined light spot but a light
area, about 2 inches from the left edge and maybe 3/4" wide or so. It
prints in that area, but noticeably lighter.

So how much of the image-producing stuff is actually in the printer and
not in the cart?

I'll check out that DIY link now.


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:15:11 -0800, David Nebenzahl
<nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote:

On 2/21/2010 8:05 PM Jeff Liebermann spake thus:

On Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:03:56 -0800, David Nebenzahl
nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote:

My trusty HP 2100M printer is now printing with a definite light
band in one spot on each page. The cartridge is old (bought new
with the printer back in 19-ought-99) but doesn't have that many
pages on it (couple thousand). Turning the cartridge to
redistribute the toner doesn't fix the problem.

Diagnosis? I'm hoping a certain regular here who lives in "Surf
City" might answer ...

Light band in which direction? Lengthwise or widthwise on the paper?
Most likely, you need a new cartridge. Even on the shelf in a box,
the carts deteriorate. If you can't borrow a cartridge for testing,
then just buy a new one. However, if the line is lengthwise, it might
be something else, such as a piece of crud stuck in the laser scanner,
a burned out transfer film in the fuser, dirty scrubber in the fuser,
gouged toner drum, gouged fuser drum, etc. If you're not sure, tear
it apart and clean out the dust, dirt, and loose toner.

Also see:
http://www.FixYourOwnPrinter.com

Thanks. I shoulda said which direction: it's lengthwise, down the page
as it's printed. And it's not a sharply-defined light spot but a light
area, about 2 inches from the left edge and maybe 3/4" wide or so. It
prints in that area, but noticeably lighter.

If there were something blocking the light path, it would appear
darker, so that's not it. Try rubbing off the toner in that area. If
it comes off, you have a problem in the fuser roller assembly.

In general, light printing would be cause by something causing the
toner to NOT stick to the selenium drum. That means low power supply
voltage, grease on the drum, light leakage, or more likely an old
cartridge. 10 years is a long time. Borrow or buy a new cart, but
also check for filth in the fuser anyway.

So how much of the image-producing stuff is actually in the printer and
not in the cart?

About 1/4th in the cart. The key parts in the cartridge are the
selenium drum and possibly a rubber scrubber blade. Before the drum
is the laser scanner and optics. Under the drum is the transfer
roller, which will produce some really disgusting effects if you let
it get dirty. After the drum is the fuser, which melts the plastic
dust to the paper.

I'll check out that DIY link now.

Moe is the owner. He knows his stuff. However, I can guess what
he'll suggest. Buy a new cartridge, but also buy a rebuild kit.
Something like this:
<http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200401727143>

Also see:
<http://www.printerworks.com>
<http://www.partsurfer.hp.com>
for parts.


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[N_Cook]

David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote in message
news:4b81e503$0$2395$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com...

My trusty HP 2100M printer is now printing with a definite light band in
one spot on each page. The cartridge is old (bought new with the printer
back in 19-ought-99) but doesn't have that many pages on it (couple
thousand). Turning the cartridge to redistribute the toner doesn't fix
the problem.

Diagnosis? I'm hoping a certain regular here who lives in "Surf City"
might answer ...


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

Get into the iron filings and redistibute along the drum, they've got too
packed in the one spot so not allowing toner to pass at that point. Requires
more than just shaking the cartridge as a filings thing rather than toner
thing

 

[David Nebenzahl]

On 2/22/2010 12:40 AM N_Cook spake thus:

David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote in message
news:4b81e503$0$2395$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com...

My trusty HP 2100M printer is now printing with a definite light band in
one spot on each page. The cartridge is old (bought new with the printer
back in 19-ought-99) but doesn't have that many pages on it (couple
thousand). Turning the cartridge to redistribute the toner doesn't fix
the problem.

Diagnosis? I'm hoping a certain regular here who lives in "Surf City"
might answer ...

Get into the iron filings and redistibute along the drum, they've got too
packed in the one spot so not allowing toner to pass at that point. Requires
more than just shaking the cartridge as a filings thing rather than toner
thing

So you're saying there are iron filings in the toner cartridge?

I know copiers use iron filings, I seem to remember in the "developer".
I remember my repair guy replacing them in my big honkin' Kodak copier once.

So what do I do, just shake the cartridge really hard?


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

 

[N_Cook]

David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote in message
news:4b8243ee$0$2404$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com...

On 2/22/2010 12:40 AM N_Cook spake thus:

David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote in message
news:4b81e503$0$2395$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com...

My trusty HP 2100M printer is now printing with a definite light band
in
one spot on each page. The cartridge is old (bought new with the
printer
back in 19-ought-99) but doesn't have that many pages on it (couple
thousand). Turning the cartridge to redistribute the toner doesn't fix
the problem.

Diagnosis? I'm hoping a certain regular here who lives in "Surf City"
might answer ...

Get into the iron filings and redistibute along the drum, they've got
too
packed in the one spot so not allowing toner to pass at that point.
Requires
more than just shaking the cartridge as a filings thing rather than
toner
thing

So you're saying there are iron filings in the toner cartridge?

I know copiers use iron filings, I seem to remember in the "developer".
I remember my repair guy replacing them in my big honkin' Kodak copier
once.

So what do I do, just shake the cartridge really hard?


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

Hold a magnetic compass nearby, should attract more than magnetised iron, at
some point between toner hopper and OPC drum
I'm asuming there is a spring loaded cover to the toner that drops in place
on removing. Hopefully there is an exposed pulley somewhere and turn it back
and forth while holding the cartridge vertically and inverting as well, just
one revolution each way may be enough. If not enough repeat more times

 

[N_Cook]

cog not pulley

 

[David Nebenzahl]

On 2/22/2010 12:58 AM N_Cook spake thus:

David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote in message
news:4b8243ee$0$2404$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com...

On 2/22/2010 12:40 AM N_Cook spake thus:

David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote in message
news:4b81e503$0$2395$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com...

My trusty HP 2100M printer is now printing with a definite
light band in one spot on each page. The cartridge is old
(bought new with the printer back in 19-ought-99) but doesn't
have that many pages on it (couple thousand). Turning the
cartridge to redistribute the toner doesn't fix the problem.

Diagnosis? I'm hoping a certain regular here who lives in "Surf City"
might answer ...

Get into the iron filings and redistibute along the drum, they've
got too packed in the one spot so not allowing toner to pass at
that point. Requires more than just shaking the cartridge as a
filings thing rather than toner thing

So what do I do, just shake the cartridge really hard?

Hold a magnetic compass nearby, should attract more than magnetised iron, at
some point between toner hopper and OPC drum
I'm asuming there is a spring loaded cover to the toner that drops in place
on removing. Hopefully there is an exposed pulley somewhere and turn it back
and forth while holding the cartridge vertically and inverting as well, just
one revolution each way may be enough. If not enough repeat more times

Interesting. Wouldn't mind a second opinion on this. What do you think,
Jeff?


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

 

On Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:12:47 -0800, David Nebenzahl
<nobody@but.us.chickens>wrote:

On 2/22/2010 12:58 AM N_Cook spake thus:

David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote in message
news:4b8243ee$0$2404$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com...

On 2/22/2010 12:40 AM N_Cook spake thus:

David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote in message
news:4b81e503$0$2395$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com...

My trusty HP 2100M printer is now printing with a definite
light band in one spot on each page. The cartridge is old
(bought new with the printer back in 19-ought-99) but doesn't
have that many pages on it (couple thousand). Turning the
cartridge to redistribute the toner doesn't fix the problem.

Diagnosis? I'm hoping a certain regular here who lives in "Surf City"
might answer ...

Get into the iron filings and redistibute along the drum, they've
got too packed in the one spot so not allowing toner to pass at
that point. Requires more than just shaking the cartridge as a
filings thing rather than toner thing

So what do I do, just shake the cartridge really hard?

Hold a magnetic compass nearby, should attract more than magnetised iron, at
some point between toner hopper and OPC drum
I'm asuming there is a spring loaded cover to the toner that drops in place
on removing. Hopefully there is an exposed pulley somewhere and turn it back
and forth while holding the cartridge vertically and inverting as well, just
one revolution each way may be enough. If not enough repeat more times

Interesting. Wouldn't mind a second opinion on this. What do you think,
Jeff?

I've never seen this but it's worth a try. We used to just shake them.

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:12:47 -0800, David Nebenzahl
<nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote:

Hold a magnetic compass nearby, should attract more than magnetised iron, at
some point between toner hopper and OPC drum
I'm asuming there is a spring loaded cover to the toner that drops in place
on removing. Hopefully there is an exposed pulley somewhere and turn it back
and forth while holding the cartridge vertically and inverting as well, just
one revolution each way may be enough. If not enough repeat more times

I just spun my 96A cartridge both ways. No toner was visible on the
selenium drum. Oddly, this is the first time I haven't seen any
visible toner. It usually dumps quite a bit everywhere. I have no
idea what's going on. Looking inside the cart at:
<http://www.futuregraphicsllc.com/lit/tg/hp2100.pdf>
I don't see anything that might cause this. Weird.

Interesting. Wouldn't mind a second opinion on this. What do you think,
Jeff?

Well, I really don't know. So, I did the experiment. I grabbed a 96A
cartridge off the shelf, and waved a compass at the cartridge. The
needle did deflect towards the toner cartridge, but very weakly. I
then took a small bar magnet and tried to pickup some refill toner I
dumped on a piece of paper. Nothing. I then held the magnet to the
selenium drum. Nothing, which makes sense because the drum is mostly
aluminum.

However, I know that there's a magnetic pickup roller inside. If you
look at the above rebuilding PDF, at step 17, they refer to a "mag
roller" which is really a waste toner scrubber. It's one of these:
<http://www.bikudo.com/product_search/details/44489/magnetic_roller_compatible_hp3906f.html>
I have one ripped apart from a different cartridge. The magnetic
attraction is VERY weak, but present. However, there's no magnetic
particles in the toner that I can see, so I have no idea what they're
doing. Maybe it's for MICR toner, which is magnetic.

I would make a video clip except that it's 10AM, I'm dead tired, and I
have at least 2 hours more work to do. Maybe tomorrow.







--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558
# http://802.11junk.com jeffl@cruzio.com
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:22:05 -0500, Meat Plow wrote:

I've never seen this but it's worth a try. We used to just shake them.

I shake them outside. I've had more than one toner cart dump a black
dust on the rug or bench. My office vacuum cleaner doesn't have the
right filter, so the dust cloud goes right through the filter bag. I
also hit a newly arrived printer with my air compressor to blow out
the toner, dust, dirt, and crud before I drag it into the office. That
really cuts down on the mess inside.



--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558
# http://802.11junk.com jeffl@cruzio.com
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS

 

[David Nebenzahl]

On 2/22/2010 10:27 PM Jeff Liebermann spake thus:

Hold a magnetic compass nearby, should attract more than magnetised iron, at
some point between toner hopper and OPC drum
I'm asuming there is a spring loaded cover to the toner that drops in place
on removing. Hopefully there is an exposed pulley somewhere and turn it back
and forth while holding the cartridge vertically and inverting as well, just
one revolution each way may be enough. If not enough repeat more times

I just spun my 96A cartridge both ways. No toner was visible on the
selenium drum. Oddly, this is the first time I haven't seen any
visible toner. It usually dumps quite a bit everywhere. I have no
idea what's going on. Looking inside the cart at:
http://www.futuregraphicsllc.com/lit/tg/hp2100.pdf
I don't see anything that might cause this. Weird.

[snip]

While this discussion is getting interesting, and I hope it continues,
I'd like to report that I took my cartridge out and gave it a good
talking to. Spun it around (in several axes), slapped it upside its
little head a few times, spun it some more, then put it back in and
printed some pages. Whatever the problem was is now gone, so we can
safely conclude that the light band was caused by something inside the
cart. Maybe some toner clumped together?


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

 

[N_Cook]

David Nebenzahl <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote in message
news:4b8382e2$0$2396$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com...

On 2/22/2010 10:27 PM Jeff Liebermann spake thus:

Hold a magnetic compass nearby, should attract more than magnetised
iron, at
some point between toner hopper and OPC drum
I'm asuming there is a spring loaded cover to the toner that drops in
place
on removing. Hopefully there is an exposed pulley somewhere and turn
it back
and forth while holding the cartridge vertically and inverting as
well, just
one revolution each way may be enough. If not enough repeat more times

I just spun my 96A cartridge both ways. No toner was visible on the
selenium drum. Oddly, this is the first time I haven't seen any
visible toner. It usually dumps quite a bit everywhere. I have no
idea what's going on. Looking inside the cart at:
http://www.futuregraphicsllc.com/lit/tg/hp2100.pdf
I don't see anything that might cause this. Weird.

[snip]

While this discussion is getting interesting, and I hope it continues,
I'd like to report that I took my cartridge out and gave it a good
talking to. Spun it around (in several axes), slapped it upside its
little head a few times, spun it some more, then put it back in and
printed some pages. Whatever the problem was is now gone, so we can
safely conclude that the light band was caused by something inside the
cart. Maybe some toner clumped together?


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

You can send toner cartridges by ordinary post so they must be able to take
all sorts of rattling in all attitudes without spillage.

For some reason , unknown to me, the iron filings are called "developer" in
the photocopier world, much the same mechanical process after latent image
generation as laser printer, except voltages are different.
Nothing ever beat the rotating magnet and filings for toner distribution
AFAIK.

my page on this sort of stuff
http://www.divdev.fsnet.co.uk/copiers.htm


--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://diverse.4mg.com/index.htm

 

On Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:30:25 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
<jeffl@cruzio.com>wrote:

On Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:22:05 -0500, Meat Plow wrote:

I've never seen this but it's worth a try. We used to just shake them.

I shake them outside. I've had more than one toner cart dump a black
dust on the rug or bench. My office vacuum cleaner doesn't have the
right filter, so the dust cloud goes right through the filter bag. I
also hit a newly arrived printer with my air compressor to blow out
the toner, dust, dirt, and crud before I drag it into the office. That
really cuts down on the mess inside.

<laughs> Yeah I've seen plenty of secretaries with toner on their
blouses.

A lot of network printers I worked with were in
industrial/manufacturing environments. One notably a
steel processing plant using CNC plasma and acetylene
cutters. So much EMI we had to run fiber to a node back by
the CNC machines and plant shipping offices. The front offices
were constructed using steel studs in the walls and steel and iron
particles in the air stuck to the stud frame through the drywall
laying out their pattern on the paint. It was almost impossible to
keep their printers going without cleaning for more than a week or so.
Even atthat they had a high failure rate.

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:29:52 -0800, David Nebenzahl
<nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote:

While this discussion is getting interesting, and I hope it continues,

This is Usenet. Such discussions never really end.

I'd like to report that I took my cartridge out and gave it a good
talking to. Spun it around (in several axes), slapped it upside its
little head a few times, spun it some more, then put it back in and
printed some pages. Whatever the problem was is now gone, so we can
safely conclude that the light band was caused by something inside the
cart. Maybe some toner clumped together?

Yes and congrats. I thought you had already shaken the cart. With a
10 year old cartridge and a rarely used printer, my guess(tm) is that
the cart has absorbed some moisture, causing the toner to clump
together. The solution is to simply leave the printer turned on for a
day, thus cooking the toner cart. A few more lengthwise shakes and
some test prints will make sure that things are evenly dried out.
However, the bad news is that it usually only happens on nearly empty
cartridges. Laser printers are nice about such things as they will
print perfectly until the very last page, where it will run out of
toner in the middle of a very important document. They don't fade
away like ink sprayers. Anyways, you'll probably be buying a new
cartridge soon.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558